


Because I Do

by Ink_Gypsy



Series: Sanctuary Singles [16]
Category: Lord of the Rings RPF (AU)
Genre: M/M, Sanctuary Universe, Sean Astin/Elijah Wood - Freeform, reuben challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-31 10:23:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12130401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: Sean and Elijah discuss their brothers and the differences in their families.





	Because I Do

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Reuben Writing Challenge from Linda Hoyland. Write a story of any length using these words:
> 
> adoption  
> anniversary  
> lap  
> meeting  
> first  
> brother
> 
> Part of my Sanctuary universe.

[](https://imgur.com/eqdZrH9)

”You've talked to your parents, but I haven’t heard you talk to your brother since Till gave you the cell phone,” Elijah said over dinner one night. “Aren’t you and Mac close?”

“Not as much as we used to be,” Sean admitted, “but that has a lot more to do with distance than it does emotion. We were very close as kids, with only two years separating us, and being the older brother, I knew he looked up to me, which is why I kept up the heterosexual masquerade for as long as I did.”

“Wasn't he okay with your being gay?”

“I didn't expect him to be because Mac was one of those boys who showed an interest in the opposite sex at a very early age,” Sean explained, “while I knew just as early that I didn’t have the same attraction to girls that he did. I didn’t really come out until I went away to college, and once I’d moved out, there didn’t seem much point in continuing the charade. Mac was shocked when I first told him because he knew I’d had girlfriends as a teenager. I guess he was as okay with it as any straight guy could be since he couldn’t really understand my feelings toward other men. He didn’t freak out, but while he didn’t jump for joy, he accepted me, and it’s never been an issue between us. What about you and Zach?”

Elijah shrugged. “I don’t think his finding out I was gay could have made Zach care less about me than he already did, but there was a bigger gap between us than you and Mac, seven years, so we weren’t really close even before, not like Hannah and me with only two years difference. My biggest problem with Zach was that he was so much like my dad, not just in looks, but in the way he thought. I used to wonder if maybe I’d been adopted, but then Hannah came along, and we looked so much alike that I knew I really was my father’s son. I’m sure my father would have preferred I wasn’t. That way he could blame someone else for the way I turned out, that my perverted lifestyle couldn’t be blamed on his side of the family. Maybe he thought Mom was at fault, but since Zach and Hannah turned out okay, that theory didn’t work. He always said he couldn’t understand how someone like me had come from his _seed_. That was the word he used, but he was always very Biblical when he spoke. I once got so mad I told him that maybe Mom had found comfort in someone else’s bed, and that’s where I’d really come from.”

“You really said that to him?” Sean shook his head in disbelief. “How did he react?”

“I knew my suggesting that Mom cheated on him would make him flip out and he did. He punched me in the face, then got his hands around my throat and tried to squeeze the life out of me.”

Obviously shocked, Sean said, “Surely he wasn’t really trying to kill you.”

“Trying or not, he would have if Hannah hadn’t come home, seen what he was doing and started screaming until he let me go. I know I shouldn’t have pushed him, but I just couldn’t take his pious attitude anymore, and his constantly telling me what a disappointment I was to him. He wouldn’t understand a family like yours, Sean, couldn't imagine people who loved their children no matter who they were, and who just wanted them to be happy.” Elijah looked down at his plate, unable to meet Sean’s eyes. “I’m really worried about meeting your folks, you know.”

“There’s nothing to be worried about,” Sean assured him, puzzled by Elijah’s concerns. “Mom wants us to come to Iowa for Christmas, but I was thinking we might surprise them on their anniversary. I think you’ll really enjoy staying at the farm.”

“Maybe it’s too soon,” Elijah suggested.

Sean raised his eyebrows. “Don’t you _want_ to meet my parents?”

“Of course I do, but—“

“But what?” Sean wanted to know.

“What if when I do they don’t like me? Or if Mac doesn’t?”

“There’s no reason for you to think they won't like you,” Sean assured him. “In fact, I know for certain that my family’s not just going to like you. They’re going to love you.”

“How can you be so sure?” Elijah asked, getting up from the table so he could collect the dishes and bring them to the sink.

“It’s simple, " Sean told him, grabbing Elijah around the middle and pulling him onto his lap. "They're going to love you because _I_ do.”


End file.
